Portable traffic signal having changing color illumination



July 27, 1965 c. PORTA 3,197,757

PORTABLE TRAFFIC SIGNAL ,HAVING CHANGING-COLOR ILLUMINATION Filed April 19, 1963 FIG. I.

,I7 2i I, 42

I I I 2 I 3 1' INVENTOR csAR PORTA ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,197,757 PORTABLE TRAFFIC SIGNAL HAVING CHANGING COLOR ILLUMINATION Cesar Porta, Palais de la Scala, Monte Carlo, Monaco Filed Apr. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 274,090 Claims priority, application France, Apr. 19, 1962, 895,127, latent 1,322,482 1 Claim. (Cl. 340321) The present invention relates to a movable device for light signals for traflic control.

In order to normalize the motorized trafiic and to coordinate the movement of vehicles and of pedestrians, particularly at crossings of streets or roads, the use of mechanical light signals has become indispensable.

Permanently arranged signal lights, suspended from posts or secured by other means, which change the signal colors either between green and red or between green and red together with an intermediate signal in yellow color, are well known, which devices are mounted on street crossings or on road crossings, in order to control the traffic on such highly frequented crossings. It is also known, to post traflic oflicers at such crossings, which traffic oflicers are equipped with a white stick for directing the trafiic manually for vehicles and pedestrians.

Such white stick has been found sufiicient during daylight hours, yet it has been found that during the evening and night hours, that means, if day light is not available, the white sticks were not sufiiciently visible for oncoming cars or pedestrians and accidents were unavoidable, which occurred on such crossings.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a movable device for light signals for traffic control operated by a trellis oflicer, who carries a device which functions during daylight hours as a traflic stick and during night time as .a signal device, which is equipped with battery operated signal lights of green and red color or of green, yellow and red color, to be alternated either manually or automatically.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a movable device for light signals for trafiic control, which is to be used during daylight hours as a white colored stick, and for this purpose one end of the device is equipped with a white frosted cylindrical bulb, which gives the appearance of a white stick, yet can be converted easily during evening and night time into a device for light signals for traffic control, whereby either by manual or automatic operation with the help of conventional means, the longitudinal bulb can appear to be lit with green, yellow or red light.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a movable device for light signals for traflic control, which is equipped with any conventional rotating distributor or commutator which successively automatically closes an electric circuit through a green, a yellow and a red bulb, so that the longitudinal bulb changes at predetermined time intervals the color appearance, which result can be obtained also by manual means with the help of a manually operated multiway switch.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an axial section of the device designed in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a section along the lines 22 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, the device comprises a cylindrical hollow gripping member 1, which has a plurality of annular extensions 2 axially spaced apart from each other and serving as gripping means for the user of the device.

The rear end of the cylindrical hollow gripping member 1 of wood, plastic or the like, is equipped with an inner thread 3, which receives threadedly a cover member 4 having outer. thread 5, and has .a diameter greater than that of the center portion of the gripping member 1. The front end portion of the gripping member 1 has also a diameter greater than that of the center portion of the gripping member 1 and is likewise equipped with an inner thread 8. A longitudinal bulb 9 of glass, plastic or anyother suitable material is frosted in a white color and has at its rear end an outer thread 10 which is received in the inner thread 8 of the gripping member 1,

thereby, simultaneously closing the front end of the latter.

If the device is used in daytime, it serves the same purpose as a white stick usually carried by a traflic oflicer while on duty, without giving the appearance that it is simultaneously at night a stick which can be illuminated in a green, yellow or red color or merely in a green or red color.

One or a plurality of batteries 13 are received within the gripping member 1 and are retained in position rearwardly by the cover 4, while the front end of the batteries 13 abuts .against a cross wall 11, in which electrical wiring 12 is embedded, which forms terminals for engagement with the plus and minus terminals of the batteries 13 in-- serted in the gripping member 1.

An electric-commutator 14 is disposed in the gripping member 1 adjacent the opposite face of the cross wall 11 and is rendered operative by operation of a special switch 15. The commutator 14 is of conventional structure and shown schematically only, the switch 15 being adapted to connect the commutator 14 with the batteries 13, so that current is fed automatically and successively to differently colored electric bulbs, as set forth below.

In front of the commutator 14 is disposed a switch-receiving member 15 shown schematically, which is equipped, preferably, with three sockets 16 receiving three electric bulbs 17 secured to the sockets 16 by screwing or in any appropriate manner, as it is well known for such electric bulbs 17. A three-way switch 18 is operated manually by means of a knob 19 from which a shaft 20 extends through a bore in the wall of the gripping member 1 towards the switch 18. It is, thus, possible to operate by means of the knob 19 the three bulbs 17, which are, preferably, of green, yellow and red color, either manually or, as stated above, by means of the commutator 14, which rotates continuously in its operative position and switches after a predetermined time period the current successively to the respective bulbs 17, thereby, changing the color appearing through the bulb 9 from green into yellow or into red.

It is to be understood that the circuit either through the commutator 14 or through the manual switch 18 can be brought about by any suitable means well known to the expert in the field.

While I have disclosed one embodiment of the present invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is given by example only and not in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claim.

I claim:

A movable device for light signals comprising a hollow substantially cylindrical gripping member having a first inner thread at one of its ends and second inner thread at the other of its ends.

a cover having outer thread complementary to and received by said first inner thread of said gripping member,

a longitudinal, white-frosted bulb having outer thread at one end and closed at its opposite end, said outer thread being received by said second inner thread of said gripping member, and said longitudinal bulb being adapted to be used as a traflic stick during dayi G light and as a trafi'ic light operating alternately different color bulbs, respectively,

said gripping member having at its center portion a plurality of annular extensions axially spaced apart from each other to permit easy gripping of said gripping member,

a cross wall disposed in said gripping member intermediate its ends and having wiring embedded there- 1n,

a battery received in said gripping member between said cover and one face of said cross wall,

a motor driven commutator and a manually operated plural position switch carrying member disposed within said gripping member adjacent the opposite face of said cross wall, said commutator and said switch being connected by said wiring to said battery,

at least two sockets mounted in said switch carrying member and having connections to said commutator and said plural position switch,

electric bulbs having different colors received in said sockets, and

circuit means controlled by additional manual switch means for connecting said commutator motor with said battery, whereby said bulbs may be operated in automatic succession by said commutator or selectively by said plural position manual switch.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,371,860 3/21 Charles 340-441 1,800,331 4/31 Whiting 340331 2,066,145 12/36 Fink et a1 340331 2,283,442 5/41 James 340331 2,567,046 9/51 Anderson 340321 2,634,407 4/53 Johnson 340-321 2,695,403 11/54 Stoker et a1 340-331 X 20 NEIL C. READ, Primary Examiner. 

